


Delicate Things

by resonance_and_d



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fire Lord Iroh AU, Some Political Intrigue, au- war ended early, because toph is like 12, friends-to-spouses?, takes place in canon era so the romance is really tame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2018-10-06 05:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10326413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resonance_and_d/pseuds/resonance_and_d
Summary: When Ozai died and Iroh took the throne, Zuko was called home from his quest to find the Avatar prematurely and the war ended without the Avatar's intervention. Things have calmed down in the three years since, and Uncle is encouraging Zuko to find a nice Earth Kingdom girl to settle down with, in order to solidify their ties to the other nations. But when the Avatar shows up just before Zuko’s betrothal is scheduled, it appears that destiny cannot be escaped, and that peace is more delicate than Zuko had ever guessed.





	1. Chapter 1

Zuko doesn’t like delicate things. Uncle’s teapots and statues have always seemed like a waste of space. Zuko doesn’t mind pretty things, but he’s never had room in his life for the breakable. His decorations in his room have always been practical- the curved swords he bought at a marketplace a couple of years ago, thinking he might like to know another weapon. Candles to meditate with. His dagger, which reminds him to never give up without a fight. There are Fire Nation hangings on his walls, sure- but those are practically mandatory for the prince of the Fire Nation, and they’ve hung in his room for longer than he can remember, anyway. Since before Father died and Uncle ended the 97-year war. Since before Mother disappeared. Since forever.

There are a lot of delicate things in the palace these days. Uncle likes to buy them from the Earth Kingdom merchants who come through. Zuko would think that it was a waste of the treasury money, but apparently Uncle is a shrewd trader as well as being too-kind and too-plump and too- too everything. The treasury is as fat as Uncle is. Someday it’ll be Zuko’s job to keep the whole Fire Nation in control, and he hopes he does half as good a job as Uncle.

It’s just after Zuko’s sixteenth birthday when the Avatar is found. Two Water Tribe siblings stumbled across him, hidden in an iceberg at the South Pole. Zuko thinks, maybe he would have found the Avatar after all, if he’d kept looking. Maybe he would have found his honor. But Uncle restored Zuko’s honor when he became Fire Lord. It’s pointless to think that maybe Father would have liked him again. Father is dead. Father died just after Zuko had been banished, while Zuko had been alone and afraid and desperate to find his lost honor. And then Uncle had said that Zuko was free to return, not even a week after he’d departed.

Zuko didn’t need the Avatar to restore his honor. Uncle had told him, over and over again, that his honor had never been lost in the first place. But he would still like to _meet_ the Avatar.

He invites their party to visit, but they decline. He can only imagine what the Water Tribe has told the Avatar about the Fire Nation. Uncle made sure that the remains of the captured waterbenders were returned to their tribe, but it will take years, maybe generations, for there to be real peace between the nations.

The Avatar masters water. The Avatar is looking for a teacher for earthbending. Zuko hears these reports in short messages by hawk. In the meantime, there are more pressing matters at hand. Uncle has decided to encourage Zuko and Azula to marry Earth Kingdom suitors. It would be a long engagement, but- still.

Zuko had thought for a long time that he might marry Mai. But when he’d gotten back from his short banishment, she’d been full of tales of poison, of how Zuko should avenge his father. Zuko hadn’t wanted to hear any of it. Uncle would never have done anything like that. And Father- well, Zuko can admit now that Father had not been a good man, but back then some misplaced affection had still stopped him from saying it out loud.

“You are free to marry who you choose,” Uncle tells both Zuko and Azula, when the latest fleet of merchants comes in. “But if you find your eyes set on a nice Earth Kingdom girl- or boy,” he adds, with a glance at Azula, who rolls her eyes- “it would greatly help in solidifying relationships with the Earth Kingdom if they knew someone in the palace was on their side.”

“We could have beaten them in the war,” Azula said. “They should be grateful we’re letting them live.”

“The war was unethical and impractical,” Uncle says, for what is probably the ninety-seventh time. "It harmed everyone- our own nation as well as others." Azula gives him a cool look and settles back into her seat.

“Why are we trying to marry merchant families, anyway?” Zuko asks. “Doesn’t the Earth Kingdom have a king?”

“The king of Ba Sing Se is the only remaining member of the royal family,” Uncle says. “And he is not a great political power. He is a symbol of the Earth Kingdom, but he does not wield much power of his own.”

“He’s a figurehead, you mean,” Azula says sharply.

Uncle sighs. “Yes,” he says. “But even a marriage with a commoner would be beneficial to our alliance.”

Azula looks extremely doubtful. Zuko knows the feeling. He thinks of all the pale delicate Earth Kingdom girls he’s seen over the past year, all of them sheltered and- well- boring. He couldn’t marry one of them.

But he loves Uncle, so he promises to try.

The girls they send this time are all so _young._ The oldest of the lot is eleven at the most. One looks like she’s barely toilet trained. Zuko sends them all away without even speaking to them. He doesn’t want to _raise_ his wife, that’s disgusting. He wants someone who he can _talk to._

The oldest one lingers.

“I said I was tired,” Zuko says, a little more sharply than he intends.

“I won’t be able to find my way back,” she says, with what is obviously feigned helplessness. “Please, Prince Zuko, could you help me?”

He’s about to shout at her for being an idiot when he notices the milky color of her irises. Maybe that helplessness isn’t feigned after all.

Stupid useless Earth Kingdom merchants. Had they really thought he’d pick a bride who couldn’t _see?_ With all the assassination attempts that were a part of daily life at court? What do these merchants think of him, that they’re sending him these _children_? This one is the most delicate girl he’s ever seen. He bets she’s been pampered and taken care of her whole life. He doesn’t hate her,  but he feels utter disdain for her.

“Fine,” he says. He takes her gently by the arm- not too close, nothing that will give her parents false hope when they see him- and leads her down the hall.

There is an explosion, halfway down the hall. Zuko moves to shield the girl, but finds that an earth wall is between them and the worst of the blast before he can even move. He notes her stance, her bare feet-

“You’re an earthbender?” he asks. The look the girl gives him is aimed just past him, but it is scornful none the less.

“Less talking,” she says. “More fighting.” Her voice has dropped a little, no longer the childish pitch that she was affecting earlier.

And, yeah, assassins seem more important at the moment. He can’t see through the dust and smoke, but there’s clearly some sort of firebending going on. He moves to guard the girl, but she brushes him off irritably. “They’re just past that column,” she says. Her feet slide along the ground, barely perceptible movements. There is a yelp from down the hall. “Got them.”

Zuko doesn’t understand what she’s doing or how she’s doing it, but he admires the minimalist stance, the perfect form. He can tell a master when he sees one. She is definitely a master earthbender. His earlier disdain disappears without a trace. She isn’t pampered. She’s been in fights before, at least sparring.

The assassin breaks free before Zuko can rush to see who it is, with a loud blast and shards of rock flying through the air. Then they’re gone, whoever they were.

“I guess you don’t want to marry me now,” the girl says, after a moment, brushing dust off her robes. She doesn’t sound very disappointed. If he had to identify her tone, he’d call it relieved.

“I don’t _know_ you,” Zuko says. “But- I think saving my life from assassins makes us at least friends.”

The girl says, “I’ve never had a friend before. Sure, Sparky. Let’s be friends.”

Zuko doesn’t learn her name until her parents come rushing in a moment later, saying “ _Toph!”_ Toph resumes the delicate flower act. Her parents promise to take her home and keep her safe. Toph says nothing against this, but when they turn away for a moment, she looks in Zuko’s direction, pleading.

“I’d like her to stay,” Zuko said. “If it’s at all possible. She saved my life.”

Toph’s parents look dumbfounded.

“With her earthbending,” Zuko clarifies. “She saved me from the worst of the blast.”

Toph’s parents practically cringe. Toph rolls her eyes when they aren’t looking. It’s then that Zuko remembers that earthbending is considered unladylike in most of the Earth Kingdom. Had he just announced that he found her unmarriageable or something?

“I would like to get to know her better,” Zuko says. At that, her parents look happier. Are all merchants this shallow and obvious about their intentions? They can’t possibly be.

Toph’s parents announce that they and Toph must retreat to their quarters and rest for the remainder of the day. Toph is delicate. Toph needs to be protected.

“I’ll increase the number of guards around your quarters,” Zuko promises. “She’ll be safe.”

Privately he thinks that Toph doesn’t need guards all that much. She’s a master, not a baby. But then, she’s maybe eleven years old at the most.

They have tea the next day. Toph takes the jasmine tea that Uncle offers and comments on its lovely, complex flavor, which wins Uncle’s heart instantly. Then she turns to Zuko and says, “Are assassins often a problem for you?”

Toph’s father chokes on his tea. “Dear-“

“They won’t be,” Zuko says. “It’s been over a year since the last attempt. We’ll catch this one before long, and it’ll be at least a few years more.”

“So what you’re saying,” Toph said, looking vaguely towards him- a lot more vaguely than she needed to- “is that being your wife might be dangerous. Eventually.” Her tone is soft, fragile.

This time it is Toph’s mother who chokes, clearly scandalized at the outright mention of why they’re at the palace- and possibly by Toph jeopardizing her chances at becoming a princess this early in the game.

“It could be,” Zuko confirms. He isn’t sure what sort of question that is to ask, but he supposes that Toph might want to know the risks before she gets in too deep.

Her grin as soon as her parents aren’t looking is a little unsettling, like a feral animal.

She reminds him, a little, of Mai- a younger Mai, before her parents had stamped out all her spontaneity and the way she used to smile. Her parents certainly remind him of Mai’s- dour, too concerned about position and propriety, convinced that if they just tried hard enough they’d have a shot at putting their daughter on the throne.

It had almost worked for Mai’s parents, sort of. He’d thought for years that they might marry. But they hadn’t, and that’s ancient history now.

They retire to the gardens, and Zuko shows Toph the turtleducks while Uncle talks to Toph’s parents.

“I can’t _see_ them,” Toph says, obviously frustrated.

Zuko can’t help it. He asks. “Aren’t you blind?”

Toph grins that shit-eating grin again. “I ‘see’ with my earthbending,” she explains. And then her mouth twists into an angry frown. “But the turtleducks are floating on water. I can’t see them at all.”

She tosses another bit of bread at the wrong side of the pond.

“They’re over here,” he says, adjusting her aim slightly. This time, she doesn’t miss. She does flush a little, though, at his touch on her arm.

This is all terribly premature. Toph is far too young- it came up in negotiations that she is  twelve, nearly thirteen- not eleven like he’d guessed- but that is still way too young to marry _anyone._

“My parents think I’m weak,” she says, almost offhand. “So it’s probably better if you don’t mention the earthbending thing much. The only reason they dragged me out here is because they think I need a strong husband to protect me when they get older and can’t do the job.”

“They think you need someone to protect you?” Zuko asks, failing to keep the amusement out of his voice.

Toph’s mouth quirks into a smirk. “Yeah,” she said. “I know, right?” There is a small stone on the ground next to her. She flicks it with her finger, and it hits a nearby tree, knocking a thin branch down.

“Do you ever think,” she says, eyes actually meeting Zuko’s face dead on this time, “that you were supposed to do something bigger than this?”

Her face is vulnerable, open in a way that he doesn’t expect.

Zuko thinks for a moment before answering. He thinks that “I was supposed to bring the Avatar home in chains” is probably not a good thing to say, considering. Instead, he says, “I was supposed to find my honor. My father said I’d lost it, and that he could restore it. I know now that that was a lie- that I never lost it in the first place, that no one can take your honor from you- but... it feels unfinished, still. Like I lost my chance, and I don’t even know how or why.”

“Because he died?” Toph asked.

“I think he had to die,” Zuko said. “To end the war. Uncle needed to be in charge. No one else would have stopped the violence. Even I-“

He stopped.

“You would have kept it going?” she asks.

“I didn’t know any better,” Zuko says. “If all you’re taught is hate and rage...”

Toph throws the turtleducks some more bread.

Zuko has never told anyone any of this. Uncle had guessed some of Zuko’s feelings, had done his best to show Zuko the way. It had taken a long time. But Toph- she seems to really understand the feel of a thwarted destiny. He doesn’t know how, but it’s unmistakable.

“I was the Earth Rumble champion three years in a row,” Toph says. “My parents caught me sneaking home this time, and the whole story came out.”

“What’s the Earth Rumble?” Zuko asks.

Toph explains. It’s a whole different world, competitive and dangerous. Zuko knows danger, but it’s the danger of court life- assassins, for one thing. Abusive jerks of fathers, for another. It’s not anything he chose. It’s not anything he’d ever want to choose. But Toph is the student of badgermoles, is the strongest and strangest earthbender he’s ever met, is someone who craves adventure and chances to prove herself.

Those chances will probably never come, now that the war is over, any more than Zuko will ever _feel_ like his honor belongs to him, no matter how much he tells himself it never went anywhere.

He doesn’t say this.

“It’s so different from here,” he says. He lies down in the grass and lets Toph continue feeding the turtleducks on her own. “I’ve only had one ‘adventure,’ and it wasn’t my choice.” He touches his scar self-consciously.

“Yeah? What kind of adventure?”

And- she can’t see his scar, no matter how good her earthbending skills are. She has no idea what he’s talking about.

There is a long silence. She frowns. “What?”

“My father...” he says, and stops.

“The old Fire Lord? The one who was attacking my kingdom? What about him?”

“He banished me,” Zuko said, after a moment. “Sent me off to find the Avatar.”

“Oh.” Toph doesn’t seem to know what to say to that, so she waits.

“I wasn’t- I wasn’t gone for long. Father died suddenly, only a week later. Another few days to return home- it wasn’t much of an adventure. If he hadn’t died I probably would have been looking until a few months ago, when the Avatar finally showed up.”

Toph says, “Maybe you would have found him.”

Zuko says, “Maybe.” And while logically he knows he wouldn’t have, part of his mind keeps mulling over the plans he’d made, that first week at sea. Would he have been near the Southern Water Tribe, when the Avatar was found? Would he have captured the Avatar? Won the war for his nation?

It’s probably for the best that no one has to find out.

“He scarred my face,” Zuko says, in a rush. “Father did, that is. Not the Avatar. I’ve never met the Avatar. It’s- pretty bad.”

Toph frowns, which could mean a million things. She says, “You know I can’t see that.”

Zuko nods. That, she seems to pick up on. Her bending is really impressive.

She leans forward to touch his face, to feel- she doesn’t even _ask_. But- it’s okay. She stops just before she touches him, like she’s making sure he’s not going to freak out. He isn’t freaking out, weirdly. If it were someone else, he might be. But Toph saved his life five minutes after meeting him, has been strangely open with him since, though he can tell she is normally guarded. She’s a friend, now, even if she wasn’t yesterday.

“He got you bad,” she says, after she pulls back. “What an asshole.”

Zuko has never heard anyone refer to his father as an asshole before. Even Uncle is careful to use polite language when talking about Ozai, though his distaste is obvious. He’s a little shocked, and then he ends up laughing, and soon Toph is laughing, too. Before long they’re laughing at the fact that they’re laughing, and Zuko-

He hasn’t laughed this hard in _years._ Even Mai hadn’t made him laugh like that. (Mai had never really made him laugh at all, really- she made him feel a lot of things, but she hadn't made him laugh much, especially near the end.)

(Her accusations that Uncle had poisoned Ozai hadn't been funny, after all.)


	2. Chapter 2

Toph’s visit is extended another week, and then another. A month goes by. Another month. The summer solstice is fast approaching. Uncle insists on throwing a party for Toph when she turns thirteen. Zuko spends a stupid amount of time worrying what to get her, and then a meteorite lands on an island on the far side of the Fire Nation, like a gift from the spirits. He pays too much money to get the whole thing shipped to the palace. It’s a weird rock, rich in metal- so rich he isn’t even sure that it’s bendable. But Toph loves it. She has trouble bending it at first, true- but she manages before long, and she makes a bracelet out of part of it, to wear around.

Not long after that, she starts metal-bending. She doesn’t show anyone but Zuko. She makes a new ornament for his topknot. It’s golden with meteorite edges.

“If you tell anyone I can metal-bend,” she tells him, deadpan, “I’ll have to kill you. This will win me the earth rumble for sure, next time.”

“You’ll have to stand in line if you want to kill me,” Zuko says, shaking his head. They still haven’t found the assassin she saved him from, that first day they met. There hasn't been another attempt since then, but it's only a matter of time.

“Zuko,” she says, more serious. “My parents are considering pulling us out of the palace. They say it’s been too long to wait for an engagement. They think you’re playing with us. I overheard them. If they don’t get an offer in the next week, we’re leaving.”

Zuko doesn’t know what to say to that. Toph, gone? Toph, leaving? Even though it’s only been a few months, he can’t imagine her going anywhere. She’s- well, a rock. Unmovable. Permanent.

“They’re going to marry me off to someone,” she says, after another moment. “Sparky- they’re my parents. I can’t just run away from them. Where would I go? You’re the only person I know that isn’t an Earth Rumbler or my parents. And- if I’m going to marry anyone, I don’t want it to be a stranger.”

It’s not like Zuko has anyone _else_ to marry, is his first thought. And- Toph is his best friend. His only friend.

“I won’t let them take you away,” he says darkly. “And besides, it’ll be a long engagement. If you meet someone else- if you want someone else-“

She kisses him, gently, on the cheek. “I know you don’t feel that way about me,” she said. “Your heart doesn’t race when you see me. I’d be a little creeped out if it did, honestly.” She punches him on the arm, a little too rough.

“You’re only thirteen,” he points out. “Sixteen is- uh- older.” And she can feel his heartbeat? That... is weird.

She sticks her tongue out at him.

“Anyway,” Zuko says. “I’ll talk to Uncle. You’re not going to marry a stranger. Or, you know. Anyone. Yet.”

“Thanks,” she says. “I owe you one.”

The betrothal ceremony takes a month to plan for. Zuko is glad. He’s ready to go through with this, but it takes some time to wrap his head around the idea of marrying Toph. She’s so little, so tough. His math tutors’ lessons come to mind; cram the earthbending skills and resilience of a grown man into a tiny thirteen-year-old girl, and what density of fortitude do you arrive at? It’s an impossible question, of course, because you can’t measure toughness on any real scale. (Zuko’s never been good at math anyway, unless someone points him at trade agreements and asks him which one is a better deal. It’s not that he’s stupid, it’s that he's no good at thinking in the abstract.)

He’s lucky, he thinks, that he’s going to be betrothed to his best friend. He thinks his mom didn’t even _like_ his father, even though she tried to make it work. He wouldn’t want to marry someone who didn’t like him. It would be miserable.

A week before the ceremony, Uncle gives him a little history lesson.

“Did you know,” he said, “that you have more than one great grandfather?”

“I’m not stupid,” Zuko said. He had never actually thought about it before, but of course it was obvious when he did; it wasn’t like Mom and Grandmother had sprung out of nowhere.

“Your father’s grandfather was Fire Lord Sozin. Your mother’s grandfather, however...”

“Please don’t tell me he was also Sozin. I know there’s some incest in our family if you go back far enough, but-“

Uncle laughs. Zuko supposes with a family like theirs, it’s that or cry.

“No,” he says. “Your mother and father were not related.”

Zuko takes a breath. He waits. It’s what Toph would do, and- it’s not that he’s copying her, exactly, but he is trying to be more patient.

“Your mother’s grandfather was Avatar Roku,” Uncle says. He hands Zuko an ornament for his topknot. “This was his. It’s meant to be worn by the crown prince.”

Zuko touches the ornament Toph made him before he accepts the gift.

“You don’t have to wear it all the time,” Uncle says. “I just wanted you to know that there is more to your history than war and violence. When you choose peace, you are not the first in your bloodline to do so.”

“Why did you never tell me this before?” He isn't angry, exactly- just puzzled. It's important to know, but not vital to his existence or anything.

“You weren’t ready,” Uncle says. “I have always thought that you seemed- unsettled. As if you were waiting for something. But in these past months, you have finally matured. I don’t worry about you as much anymore.”

Zuko had been alone except for Azula and Uncle, until these past few months. He sometimes met with merchants or diplomats. Peace was as busy as war, Uncle always told him, but Zuko doesn't have the head for fancy diplomatic conferences. He knows the math of the situation, can demand better deals in negotiations, but no one would ever call him a people person. He knew once Uncle was gone, he would have to rely on Azula more than he wanted to, for that.

And now, maybe Toph. That alone is enough to take a weight off of him, that he won't have to rely on Azula so much. She's been better, since Uncle took the throne, but that doesn't mean she is trustworthy- just that she isn’t stupid enough to do anything dumb when Uncle is around.

He feels strangely light when he walks out of the room. Like the entire weight of his family legacy has been pressing down on him, and suddenly it is half as heavy.

He walks past Toph’s family’s quarters on his way back to his own room. It isn’t, strictly speaking, on the way, but he is willing to endure the extra moments’ walk and an escort to talk with Toph for a few moments.

The rooms are silent. He thinks for a moment that they must all be asleep- but then he realizes that the guards outside the suite of rooms are missing, too, and besides, Toph’s family keeps late hours.

Something is wrong.

He still knocks. “Toph?”

But when no answer comes, he opens the doors quickly.

There are signs of a struggle. Broken furniture, charred wall hangings, and a single spire of earth, ripped from the stone of the floor and thrust towards an attacker. But there is no sign of anyone currently in the rooms. Everyone is gone. He touches the scorch marks. They are no longer hot- just barely warm.

The smart thing to do would be to alert the guards and leave the rescue attempt to them. This is obviously some anti-peace attempt at preventing the betrothal ceremony from happening. Toph might already be dead.

Zuko isn’t stupid, but no one has ever called him smart, either. He doesn’t think. He runs, follows the trail of destruction from the main room of the suite to the bedrooms, to Toph’s room-

Her parents are collapsed on the floor, knocked unconscious. Toph is nowhere to be seen.

The trail leads out the window. He follows.

There are more spires of earth just outside. There are no guards around. No one at all is present. This can’t be right. It’s barely night, and there are always guards around the palace.

And then something hits him in the head, and he blacks out.

* * *

He wakes up somewhere else. He’s in a cart or something, in pitch darkness. His hands and feet are tied with something harder and tighter than rope. Wire, maybe. He thinks briefly back to what happened, and wants to hit himself. He was an idiot. It had been a trap. How anyone had managed to lay a trap in the middle of the palace walls, he’s not sure. But he fell for it. The question is, how long will it take for Uncle to send a rescue party?

“Zuko,” a voice says, so quiet he can barely hear it.

“Toph?” He tries to keep his voice low, too.

“Yeah, pea-brain. It’s me.”

He tries to wriggle his way into a sitting position. This fails dramatically, and Toph has to stifle a giggle. A moment later, something touches him on the arm. He flinches away, but Toph says, “Shh. It’s just me.”

She pulls at the wire around his wrists. For a moment it gets tighter, and he winces. Then it gets loose, and comes off entirely. He flexes his hands a little while she gets the wire off his feet.

“They put us in a metal cage,” she says, and her voice is almost amused. “I wanted to wait until you woke up, though. What did they do to you?”

“Hit me over the head,” Zuko says. “I didn’t even see them. Who has us?”

“I don’t know,” Toph says. “Firebenders. Rebels, maybe?”

Zuko has a really bad headache. He feels his head gingerly. There is a lump, and touching it hurts pretty badly. He feels fine otherwise, though- not confused or anything. He can still fight.

“So are we busting out of here or not?” he asks.

Toph says, “Wait a minute. Do you feel that?”

There is a lurching feel, and the cage slides a few inches across the floor.

Zuko can smell the ocean.

“We need to get out of here now,” he says. “I think they’re putting us on a boat. If they get us away from the Fire Nation-“

“On it,” Toph says. He can’t see her, but he can hear her quiet footsteps as she walks to the other side of the cage, and the groan of metal as it gives way.

“Follow me,” she says.

He listens.

They’re still docked- there hasn’t been time for the rest of the cargo to be loaded. That means it’ll be easy to get back to shore, and from there, back to the palace.

Zuko sees some flaws in this plan immediately. First, once they bust out of the crate their cage is in, Toph's feet hit the wood of the deck. She freezes. Right- earthbending-based “sight” means that she’s totally blind here. It's early morning, so at least Zuko can see, though.

Second, there’s nothing for her to bend. The nearest earth is across a narrow strip of water. And if she can’t even see it, how is she going to bend it? Third, there are at least six men in between them and the way back to shore.

“Get behind me,” Zuko says, keeping his voice calm. He has none of Toph's disadvantages right now. He's going to keep her safe.

Toph isn’t dumb. She backs up, grabs his hand briefly, and gets behind him.

“How’d you get out of there?” the nearest man asks. Then he shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re worth more alive than dead, but if we can’t hold you in a solid metal cage, we’ll just kill you.”

That isn’t comforting. Zuko scowls at them. He could take them if he was alone, no problem. Zuko’s had years to train. He’s not at Uncle’s level, or even Azula’s, but he’s still pretty good compared to most hacks out there.

He isn’t alone. He has Toph to protect.

He just has to get her to shore. It’s not far. Then she won’t need much protecting.

“Point me,” she says, from behind him.

He says, “What?”

“Point me at shore,” Toph says, and comes out from behind him with a handful of long thick wire, one end wrapped around her hands and the other loose.

“Uh,” Zuko says. “You sure this is going to work?”

The men haven’t started attacking yet. Maybe they’re still hoping that Zuko and Toph will give up. After all, no one can bend metal, right? So that means that Zuko and Toph are weaponless, no matter what strange plan they’re concocting.

“I can’t promise a smooth landing,” Toph says. “But we’ll survive. Ready? Point me!”

Zuko takes her arm and points it the right way. Then he holds on for dear life.

The cables lash out. They sink into the wall on the far side of the water, high above them.

They swing. Zuko holds on, one hand grasping the wire above Toph’s hand, the other around Toph’s waist.

They don’t make it. They’ve misjudged the distance; they land in the water. For a moment they hang there. Then Zuko’s grip gives out, and- he doesn’t mean to, but he drags Toph down with him, into the water.

He comes up for air a second later, and Toph isn’t there. He dives, thinks, she’s blind, thinks, can she even swim?

He can’t let her drown.

He dives. The water isn’t too deep here, but it isn’t the cleanest water. There’s mud, and he can’t see. He finds her just as his breath is giving out. He pulls her up, and she has the sense to kick at the water, helping him pull her along.

They make it before either of them pass out, luckily. Zuko thanks every spirit he can think of.

Their captors are waiting for them at the surface. Zuko swims to the dock, counters the fire that one of them sends at him. Toph is clinging to him, and all he can think is that he has to keep her safe. It matters what happens to him, but in the moment, it matters more what happens to her.

They can’t make it to shore. It’s too far, and there are too many enemies. Zuko thinks, what a stupid way to die, what a stupid, tragic time to die, less than a week before they were supposed to be betrothed.

That’s when he hears a roar. It shakes him to the bones, deep and loud, but he’s under the dock, and all he can see is water underneath him and fire from every side.

Only moments later, the fire is gone. He drags Toph out cautiously.

“What is it?” she asks.

Zuko doesn’t know.

It’s only a moment later that a bald kid with a tattoo sticks his head over the edge of the dock.

“Hey!” he says. “You looked like you could use some help!”

And- that’s the Avatar. Zuko can only gape.

“Who is it?” Toph asks. “Zuko, tell me what’s happening or get me to shore.”

There’s a waterbender in their party, a girl much closer to Zuko’s age than Toph is. She bends the waves and moves them gently to shore, where a giant air bison is waiting for them.

“You’re Toph, right?” the Avatar asks. “Toph Bei Fong?”

Usually, people identify Zuko first. He has the huge scar. It’s pretty recognizable.

“I am,” Toph says. “Why?” She’s on the defensive. Zuko has come to recognize that tone.

“Okay,” the Avatar says, gesturing wildly with his hands. “So we crash-landed in a swamp, and we all had visions, and a crazy king told me that you were the one that I needed to teach me earthbending.”

Toph stares blankly in his direction. “What?”

“What Aang is trying to say,” the waterbender tells them, “is that he needs an earthbending teacher, and we think you’re the one.”

Toph says, “so you’re asking me to leave my parents.”

The waterbender and the water tribe boy look at each other. “Yeah,” the boy says. “We are. It wouldn’t be forever, but-“

“Count me in,” Toph says.

Zuko feels his heart just about stop.

“Just so we’re clear, though,” she says, “we’re dragging Sparky here, too. He’s my best friend, and he’s never had an adventure in his life.”

“Sounds reasonable,” the Avatar says. He smiles at Zuko. “I’m Aang. I guess you probably already figured out I’m the Avatar. And these are my friends Katara and Sokka. What’s your name?”

“I’m Zuko,” Zuko says.

Just like that, their welcoming expressions get a little strained.

“Like, the crown prince of the Fire Nation, that Zuko?” the water tribe boy asks.

“Yeah,” Zuko says. “Like that... Um. Is that a problem?”

Katara’s eyes twitch, but she doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Finally, she says, “We’re from the Southern Water Tribe. Your people killed all our waterbenders. I’m the last one. And your people killed my mother, too.”

“I’m sorry about that,” he says awkwardly. “If it makes you feel better, I was way too young to be personally involved in either of those things.”

Katara twitches again. “It doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Uh... right.”

He looks to Toph for help. She seems very interested in picking the dirt from under her nails.

He says, “I’m sorry.” That seems like a good place to go. “If there were something I could do to make it right again, I-“

“Well, there isn’t.”

“Okay...” He isn’t sure what she wants from him.

The Avatar- Aang- touches her arm. Her expression softens a little. “Fine,” she says. “Just- you better not cause any trouble.”

Zuko nods. “Thank you,” he says.

“Good,” Toph says, cracking her knuckles. “Let’s get going before someone catches up to us, then!”

Zuko thinks by “someone” she probably means “my parents.”

“We have to go back next week,” he says. That’s when the ceremony is. That’s when they are supposed to be betrothed.

She says, “Relax, sparky. We’ll make it back.”

Aang does not look so sure. Brightly, he asks, “What’s next week? Is it important?”

Toph says, “It’s...” She looks at Zuko, and says, “Yeah. It’s important.”

Zuko had been worried for a moment that she didn’t want to go through with the betrothal, now that she could run off with the Avatar. He’d thought maybe when she had options, she wouldn’t want to marry him anymore. The relief when he realizes that she does is incredibly freeing.

Aang still looks curious. Toph says, after a moment, “It’s a betrothal ceremony. It would probably cause a scandal if we didn’t show up.”

Zuko snorts. “That’s understating it.”

“Who’s getting betrothed?” Katara asks, obviously trying to be polite now.

“Uh,” Zuko starts.

“We are,” Toph says bluntly, with no explanation.

Zuko loves Toph, really does, but she could stand to explain things sometimes.

Katara looks weirded out, but it’s Sokka who says, “So... how old are you, Toph?”

“Thirteen.”

“Mm hmm. I see. I see... And Zuko is...”

“Nearly seventeen,” Zuko says. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Noooo,” Sokka says, drawing the word out and making a weird face. “Just... I hope you two are very, uh, happy together.”

Zuko glowers. Toph grins at their discomfort, and says, “He’s my best friend,” as if that explains everything. She punches Zuko in the arm, which he finds oddly reassuring. Toph doesn't engage in those kinds of displays when she feels uncomfortable. It's a sign that everything is alright.

That bit of awkwardness out of the way, they move to the sky bison.

"Who were those guys after you, anyway?" Sokka asks.

"Someone trying to kidnap us both," Zuko says, shrugging.

"Just like old times," Toph adds. "Remember when I saved you from that assassin, Sparky?"

Zuko regards her fondly. "Yeah."

Aang says, "Assassin?"

It feels weird, that these children have never been in danger like that. Zuko is an odd kind of sheltered. Maybe sheltered is the wrong word. What he is, is isolated. Since the time Uncle took the throne there have been assassins and guards, protection and danger. Most of the nobles are angry about the war ending. Almost all of them would be willing to kill Uncle if they could get away with it, though most lack the nerve to take action. Zuko isn't really safe, though Uncle suffers the majority of the attempts.

This isn't even the first time someone has tried to kidnap Zuko, though other attempts haven't had nearly as much success.

This is the first time Zuko has been outside the palace walls in nearly two years. It's safer inside. Zuko has always chafed at this restriction, but he respects Uncle too much to sneak out. (Azula isn't as respectful- he knows she sneaks out all the time. He doesn't tattle on her, though- she knows the risks.)

They're still staring at him. Zuko realizes he hasn't said any of this out loud. Whoops.

"Not everyone is happy about the war being over," he says, finally. "Some are... unhappier than others. There have been a lot of attempts."

"That's horrible," Katara says.

It is, he guesses.

"It's only going to get worse when we're officially betrothed," Toph says, with a little too much enthusiasm. "I still can't believe those idiots got the jump on me. I've been too comfortable in that palace of yours, Sparky. I've gotten soft."

"Maybe..." Zuko says. He thinks over his words before saying them, making sure it's not just selfishness that drives him. "Maybe we should get away from the palace. After the betrothal ceremony."

Toph scoffs. "Like my parents would allow that."

"Why not?" Zuko says. "What better way to keep you safe than to travel with the Avatar?"

Aang looks back and forth between them. "If you're worried about being safe," he says nervously, "I'm not really sure we're the best people to travel with. We tend to run into a lot of bandits."

"Aang and Katara get captured a lot," Sokka adds.

" _Sokka_ got trapped in the spirit world," Katara says, glaring at her brother.

Toph grins, and says, "Sounds perfect. What do you think, Sparky, ready for an adventure?"

Zuko has been waiting his whole life for an adventure. He says, "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

Returning home for the betrothal ceremony goes about as well as can be expected. Which is to say, it's kind of a disaster.

Uncle is in an uproar about the kidnappers. He's usually so calm and cheerful that Zuko forgets he gets so _loud_ whenever he thinks that Zuko is in danger. Toph's parents are quieter, but suddenly the betrothal depends on more guards, more safety, more control. They're very polite about it, but insistent.

Toph is (as usual, it seems) tongue-tied in front of her parents. She looks pleadingly at Zuko.

"The problem is," Zuko says, projecting his voice but making sure not to shout over Uncle, "that we're sitting turtleducks as long as we stay in the palace."

Aang and the others haven't come with them. Zuko figured this was going to be a hard sell even without Aang's merry band of misfits around, so they left the bison circling the city above, and are waiting outside the palace.

"Do you have a better idea?" Toph's father asks, and his tone borders on angry.

Zuko holds his ground. "I happen to know someone who can help protect Toph. To protect both of us," he adds when Uncle looks at him. "And he can keep us in constant motion, so that we're never in one spot long enough for anyone to track us down."

Toph's parents look intrigued, but not convinced. Azula, off to the side, is uncharacteristically quiet. She looks bored. Uncle just looks confused.

"Who?" he asks.

Zuko takes a deep breath. "The Avatar is the one who rescued us. And he is willing to take us with him as he learns earthbending."

This causes another kind of stir. Uncle looks at Zuko sharply, worry plain on his face. Zuko isn't sure what that's about- worry for Zuko's safety? Worry that Zuko will snap and try to capture the Avatar like he'd been set on doing when he was thirteen? There's no way of knowing.

"Why would the Avatar agree to ferry around the prince of the Fire Nation and the blind daughter of a merchant?" Toph's mother asks. Zuko turns to her. He's always felt she was the one pulling the strings in Toph's family, for all that Toph's dad was the one who spoke more often and loudly.

Zuko looks at Toph. That's her job to explain.

"The Avatar had a vision," Toph says. "He thinks I'm the one who needs to teach him earthbending."

"Absolutely not," Toph's father says. "Traveling the world is dangerous. You seem to have some misconceptions about the world, Toph. You are blind. You are helpless. You can't-"

Toph says, "You're wrong."

Uncle has never questioned Zuko's choice of bride, though he has raised an eyebrow once or twice. Uncle and Toph get along, but it's clear that he is a little confused as to why Zuko likes her.

Now, there is dawning comprehension on his face.

Toph says, "I have always been an obedient daughter." Her face is turned to the ground.

Zuko is tempted to snort or scoff after her stories about the Earth Rumble, but he doesn't. The way she's holding herself seems almost broken. Zuko thinks of Toph's demeanor around them, how delicate she has always seemed. He thinks of how tough she acts on her own. He thinks, maybe neither one is really an act, exactly. Maybe Toph is only tough in some ways. He thinks, irrationally, that if her parents laugh at her or don't listen, he might just firebend at them.

Toph's parents do not scoff. They listen. Thankfully, because Zuko is sure that firebending at the parents of his future wife would probably put an end to the future he and Toph have been hoping for.

"I-" Toph says, and stops.

Zuko takes her hand, squeezes it, and lets go.

"I'm a master earthbender," Toph says, quietly. She looks up. "Not just a master- I'm one of the best in the world. I've done things that no one else has even thought of. I know you think I'm helpless, but that just isn't true. I don't have a lot of fighting experience yet-"

(Her mother looks like she might faint)

"-but the fact is, if I'm going to be the wife of the future Fire Lord- and I am, it would cause a scandal if we backed out now- being good at fighting, being able to protect myself, is an asset. And what better way to get practical experience than to travel with the Avatar, learning about the world in relative safety?"

She turns to Uncle. "Don't worry about Zuko, either. I'll protect him."

Zuko squawks then, which doesn't really help his point.

Toph's parents still aren't happy about the whole situation, but they agree that traveling with the Avatar might be safer while they work with the guards to find out how the kidnappers got in.

"You'll protect her," Toph's mother says to Zuko, just before negotiations end. It isn't a question, but neither is it a command. It's just... a fact.

"Yeah," Zuko says, looking fondly at Toph, across the room. "I will."

But he has no fears about assassins or kidnappers getting Toph. Instead, he suspects the greatest danger to her comes from right here. He thinks, Toph never looks so breakable except when she's with her parents.

He doesn't know how much of either persona is an act. He just knows he's going to be there for her, no matter what. He loves tough Toph, but he's seen enough of fragile Toph to love that side of her, too. He's not going to let her parents mow her down.

After explanations, Uncle goes personally to greet Aang and his companions. Zuko wants to go, too, but Uncle says, "No, Zuko. My old heart couldn't bear it if you went outside the palace again today. Someone tried to kidnap and kill you earlier today. It is better if you stay beside Toph. Protect each other."

Zuko grumbles a little, but the truth is that he's exhausted. Since the night before, he's been hit over the head, dragged halfway across the main island, nearly drowned, and made to fight for his and Toph’s lives. It has been a long day, and it isn't even noon.

Along with Toph and her family, he retreats to a room deep in the palace, with guards hand-chosen by Uncle. This time, they're safe. Azula is there too, of course, because theoretically she is in as much danger as Zuko and Toph are if someone goes after the royal family.

Personally, Zuko pities anyone who tries to kill Azula.

It takes a long time for Uncle to come back. Zuko would worry, but then, Zuko kind of pities anyone who makes an attempt on Uncle, too. He's not as mean as Azula, but he's hardly a pushover.

They play Pai Sho. Azula wins. Zuko isn't sure why he agreed to play with her when she always wins.

"You're cheating," Toph accuses.

"Prove it," Azula says with a smirk.

Toph's parents stay on the opposite side of the room from the teenagers. They do not play Pai Sho. Toph's mother looks almost ill, her face a little drawn. Zuko thinks that she probably didn't sleep all night.

The only one who seems at all relaxed is Azula, who seems more annoyed at being guarded than scared at the attack. Then again, who ever knows what Azula is really feeling. It's always an act with her.

Finally, Uncle returns with the Avatar and his companions.

"We grabbed the guys who captured you," Aang says. "But none of them are talking."

"They're in the dungeons now," Uncle adds grimly. "We'll see if a little time locked up loosens their tongues." Turning to the Avatar with a slight bow, he says, "I must thank you again for saving my nephew and his soon-to-be betrothed. There is no way I can repay you, and I'm afraid our hospitality is limited while we question all the guards, but if there is anything I can provide for you, please do not hesitate to ask."

The Avatar looks sheepish. "It was no trouble," he says. "I'm the Avatar. Saving people is what I do."

The Avatar and his companions sit by the Pai Sho table. Azula trounces the Avatar at Pai Sho three times in a row, each time more faster than the last, before he turns to talk to Zuko and Toph again.

"You two must be excited," he says. "Getting betrothed is a big deal, right?"

Zuko looks at Toph. She looks... thoughtful. "It sure beats living with my parents," she says, quietly enough that her parents can't hear. She punches Zuko in the arm again. More loudly, she says, "Zuko's not bad."

Across the room, Toph's mother looks horrified at Toph's manners in front of the Avatar.

Aang just looks confused, but he's distracted as his pet lemur jumps onto the Pai Sho board and knocks all the pieces off the board.

"Momo!" Aang says, standing up. "That's not how you play Pai Sho!"

Zuko is kind of relieved. He doesn't want to have to explain to the Avatar about how he's marrying his best friend to keep her from getting married off to some stranger. The politics are stupid, Toph's parents are stupid, and really it's none of Aang's business anyway.

The next few minutes are a little chaotic, as Aang chases Momo around the room. Toph's parents look appalled by the noise and distraction. Zuko looks at Toph. She's trying to hide her grin behind her hand, but he can still see the upturned corners of her mouth. It's a simple joy on her face, one he doesn't get to see that often.

She isn't happy in the palace.

It's the first time the thought has ever hit him, but it rings true. She hasn't been happy the whole time she's been with him. She's resigned to her place in the world, but she's not happy with it.

He's not sure he knows where she'd be happier, though. Certainly not being married off to someone else.

Well, a betrothal isn't final. It would cause a scandal to break it, but he doesn't care. If she finds someone else- or something else, some greater purpose- he'll let her go.

  
Uncle comes back an hour or two later, looking grim. Everyone has more or less settled down by then, and Aang and Sokka been telling stories about the adventures their group has been through, corrected occasionally by Katara, who is more level-headed and doesn't leave out important details.

The stories are still pretty confusing. Zuko isn't sure why they ended up getting chased by pirates. Katara was strangely silent on that point, weirdly.

But when Uncle comes back, everyone falls silent, waiting for news.

"They had inside help," Uncle tells everyone, "but it is impossible to determine who it was. Everyone who had direct contact with that help is dead." He shakes his head sadly. "I never thought so many of our guards could be swayed."

Toph's mother is pale. Well, paler than usual. Toph's parents are pretty pale to start with.

"Then- it could happen again?"

Uncle shakes his head. "It will not come to that. Zuko and Toph will be traveling with the Avatar by morning. The engagement will just have to wait."

"What about me?" Azula asks. "Don't you think that I'm in danger as well?"

"I need you here," Uncle says. "I will need help to discover who is behind this."

Azula smiles a little too widely. She's scary sometimes. Zuko thinks that whoever the ones behind the attack, they're going to end up singed or worse. He almost feels sorry for them, until he remembers that they were going to kill Toph.

Then he thinks, good, let Azula have her fun with everyone involved. They deserve it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short, but it seemed like a good place to end the chapter. Coming up soon: adventures with the Gaang :D


End file.
